Informing Them
by MadmanJrs
Summary: Makoto never thought she'd be having this conversation with her sister. How do you tell her you're pregnant with Ren Amamiya's baby? It wasn't just Sae's reaction that she was nervous about. ShuMako Week Day 5. Prompt: Nerves


There was a nervous silence in the air as two figures sat adjacent from each other. It was a weird sort of silence, awkward for some reason despite the fact that these two people were related. Sisters, in fact. Two members of a family that was quite tight knit, especially with everything that had happened in their lives. Their Mother had passed away due to illness when they were children and their Father followed almost a decade later. They were sisters and should have been much closer after the tragedies that had plagued their family all these years. And yet if it weren't for a little group called the Phantom Thieves, they might have been driven further apart. But they weren't and while the circumstances for their reconciliation weren't ideal, they wouldn't have had it any other way. They became much closer, could pretty much tell each other anything and loved one another unconditionally. Which is what made the nervous silence between the two awkwardly bizarre.

Makoto fidgeted in her seat. She wasn't all that sure how to approach this conversation. It wasn't a particular conversation she envisioned herself having; or at least, the thought never crossed her mind. Sae wasn't exactly the most well versed individual when it came to topics about relationships or family. To Makoto's knowledge, Sae's last foray into the world of love was back in high school and once Makoto's upbringing and her own career took precedent, there was just no time for romantic ventures. The fact was the younger Niijima was the more experienced of the two when it came to the topic of love, something she never thought she'd say. And it was all due to one Ren Amamiya.

Ah yes, Ren Amamiya, her loving man who was partially to blame for this current predicament. Sae had surprisingly accepted their relationship and held Ren in high regard though he did receive the expected "Hurt my sister and I'll hurt you" conversation. Still, they were already together for so long already so why was Makoto so nervous about telling her sister this? In fact, she hadn't even told Ren this. The nervous, overthinking side of Makoto was playing around with her emotions.

"So, what did you want to talk about, Makoto?" Sae said, breaking the silence.

"Uh… you see…" Makoto began, unable to find the words to say.

The younger sister took a deep breath. How do you tell your sister that you're pregnant with Ren Amamiya's baby? What would she think? Would she think they were ready to be parents? Granted, Ren had a slight immature side that went hand in hand with his Joker personality but still. He was a reliable person who went above and beyond for those he cared about. There was no doubt, he would be a great Dad someday and it seemed like that day would be in less than 9 months.

"Is something wrong, Makoto?" Sae asked.

Makoto moved to speak again but words wouldn't come out. Why was she so nervous about this? Truth be told, most of her reservations were about herself. Was she ready to be a mother? She didn't really have any role models to base the experience after and Sae wasn't exactly well versed in that area. Besides, if anything, Sae would probably be mad that Ren knocked up her younger sister. Still, Sae seemed to like Ren so this shouldn't be too difficult to say. Swallowing the saliva that had been building up in her mouth, Makoto quickly blurted out what she wanted to say this whole time.

"I'm pregnant."

There! She said it. It was out there now. Makoto peered up to look at her sister, expecting a face contorted in anger, ready to go into a tirade about tearing away Ren's manhood or something along those lines. But what she saw instead confused her. Sae was… smirking? In fact, the smirk turned into a proper smile before Sae broke off into laughter.

"Uh, Sis?" Makoto wondered, slightly upset her sister seemed to be in delight over this.

"Sorry Makoto it's just… hahaha!" Sae began before the laughter took over.

It wasn't like Sae at all to be laughing like this. Granted after the incident with her palace and the change of heart, Sae had become a much lighter person and wasn't so success driven but still! She was roaring in laughter, something Makoto just wasn't used to.

"Hey Sis…" Makoto whined.

Sae managed to compose herself, mock wiping a tear from her eye.

"I apologize but Makoto," Sae said "Why are you so nervous about telling me this?"

"W-well what do y-you expect?" Makoto stuttered "How do you tell your sister that you've gotten knocked up?"

Sae chuckled again.

"Oh little sister, you're hilarious!"

Makoto pouted as Sae continued to laugh.

"Sorry it's just… Makoto, you're 28 and have been married for 3 and a half years. This is kind of to be expected." Sae said

Makoto blinked in surprise. Sae expected this?

"You're… you're not mad?" she asked.

"Why would I be mad?" Sae wondered "If anything, I'm kind of looking forward to this. I've always doubted I'd have children of my own but I can't wait to spoil my future niece or nephew."

Makoto smiled weakly. It was the first smile she had given this whole time.

"Have you told Ren-kun yet?" Sae asked.

Makoto shook her head.

"No, I only learnt about this yesterday and Ren doesn't return from his business trip til tomorrow."

Sae stood up from her seat and moved to sit beside Makoto.

"Are you worried about telling him?"

Makoto meekly nodded.

"To be honest, a little." she answered truthfully.

Sae placed her hands on Makoto's and looked at her younger sister reassuringly.

"Don't be. I'm positive that Ren-kun will be a fantastic father. I've seen how he is with your friends and you know how childish they can be." she said.

Makoto chuckled weakly.

"Yes, you're right but it's not him I'm worried about."

Makoto stared at the ground, her hands still in her lap with Sae's resting on top of them.

"Makoto…" Sae said, her eyes never leaving her Sister's face.

"Sorry, it's just…" Makoto began, her voice quivering ever slightly "Mother passed on when we were young. I don't remember a whole lot about her so I don't exactly have anyone to base being a mother on."

Seeing Makoto's downed expression, Sae gripped her hand even tighter. Makoto looked up at her sister. Normally whenever those red eyes looked downwards, they were glaring, mostly at opponents at court or anyone that had dared to cross the elder Niijima. But ever since her heart had changed, they were never like that with Makoto or even Ren. They were now full of warmth, full of love and affection. Makoto's own eyes glanced up at her sisters.

"Makoto," Sae started to speak "You are going to be a wonderful mother."

Makoto smiled and hugged Sae. It relieved her fears for the time being. Now all she had to do was tell Ren.

* * *

It was now the next day and Makoto sat alone in the living room of her apartment. She and Ren had moved into this apartment not long after they got married. It was quite the dwelling, with a spacious living room for entertaining their family and friends and a balcony overlooking the urban landscape of Tokyo. The bathroom was quite large compared to other apartments with Ren having particular attachment to it, going into a monologue about not having to share scalding hot baths with old men anymore. Not that he had suffered that in a long time. The couple had moved in together quite early in their adulthood but Ren was the type of person to use old experiences as humour. Makoto's eyes lingered from the two doors on the west end of their living room. Closest to the balcony was their room, complete with a queen sized bed and walk in closet. The other room was a spare guest room that Morgana would use when he stayed over. To be honest, it would be a perfect room for their child. Makoto began to think about how to decorate it, what kind of toys he or she would like. She wondered if they would get along with any siblings. Would they be like how she and Sae were growing up? With Makoto following her older sister around like she was the biggest hero in the world.

 _'Oh dear!'_ Makoto thought.

If they were to have more children they'd definitely need to move. This was only a two room apartment after all. Maybe they should get a house somewhere. A quiet neighbourhood like Yongen would be perfect actually. They would be near everything they needed and the train station was right there. Makoto caught herself. Damn it, she was overthinking things again and getting ahead of herself. Thinking of more kids already? She hadn't even told Ren that she was pregnant with their first child yet.

"Okay, take a deep breath, Niijima." she said as she attempted to steady herself.

Perhaps she should go make herself some coffee while she waited. While she wasn't the best, Ren had taught her enough for a respectable cup. As she moved to the kitchen counter she heard the rustling of keys outside before the door opened. In walked Ren, towing his suitcase behind him looking quite tired.

"Honey, I'm home!" he announced.

It was something he always looked forward to saying on the rare occasions that Makoto would be home before him. Heck sometimes he'd even leave to go buy something then come back after she arrived home just so he could say it. Not that she minded. It was one of his quirks that she adored.

"Hello dear." Makoto greeted him "How was your trip?"

"It was alright." Ren replied as he set his suitcase against the couch "The conference was interesting but at the same time, kind of boring to be honest."

"I thought you were excited about this conference?" Makoto asked.

"I was." Ren said as he moved towards Makoto to give her a hug "But anything that takes me away from my beautiful wife for too long is lame."

Makoto awkwardly laughed as she tried to hide her blush. Even after being together for so long he could always get her flustered with honeyed words. Not that she minded. She adored that loving side of his and it helped ease her nerves sometimes when he showed her how much he loved her.

"It was three days, you sweet talker." Makoto said, lightly tapping Ren on his forehead as he encircled his arms around her waist.

"Three days without you is a life time."

"Dork."

Ren smiled as he leaned in to kiss Makoto on the lips. She melted into it for a second before pulling away. He looked at her with confused eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…" Makoto mumbled "But um… we should sit for this."

"Okay?" Ren responded before leading his wife to sit.

Makoto plopped herself down on the soft fabric of the living room sofa. She began to absentmindedly stroke her hand on it, a habit she had picked up recently whenever she was nervous about something. And clearly her husband had noticed.

"Makoto? What's wrong?" he asked "You're doing that thing again."

She stopped as soon as he pointed it out. She took a deep breath. Why was this so nerve wracking to announce? It wasn't as if Ren was someone that would have reservations about parenthood. They had talked about it a few times, the last time being just after their honeymoon ended. Makoto always knew that Ren would make a great dad someday. He just had those qualities about him. No, the anxiety that had been building in her was more about her. Sae had reassured her yesterday that Makoto would be a fantastic mother but still. What if she did something wrong? What if she couldn't provide enough care for them? What if…

"Makoto." Ren's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

She turned towards him taking into account the loving nature of his gaze. It always brought a smile to her face to see him look at her like that. Like every time he saw her face, he'd fall in love with her all over again. It made everything okay. She shouldn't be nervous about this. This was a big wonderful step in their lives. Probably the biggest.

"Um… okay I'm just going to say it." she began.

He rested his hand on hers, gripping it to provide reassurance as she spoke.

"Ren," she spoke "I'm pregnant."

Her husband's eyes grew as wide as they possibly could as he stood up in surprise. His expression was a little unreadable but he wasn't upset. Of course not, why would he be upset?

"You're… you're pregnant?!" he exclaimed.

She nodded and rubbed her belly instinctively.

"You're… we're…" a large grin began to appear on his face. "We're going to be parents?!"

Suddenly Makoto was swept up into a tight embrace as Ren lifted her from her seated position. Ren held her tight as she was swung around in a loving twirl.

"R-Ren!" she stammered "You're going to make me dizzy."

He set her down while still giving her the biggest smile.

"Sorry." he said sheepishly before returning to his prior excited state "I'm just… I can't believe it. We're going to be parents! When did you find out?"

Makoto sat back down and gestured Ren to sit beside her. He complied as she began to speak.

"The day you left actually." his wife began as she recounted the events of the past few days "After you left that morning I started to feel quite sick and spent the next five minutes over our toilet bowl."

"And knowing you, you went to work anyways." Ren said with a knowing smirk.

"You… know me well." Makoto responded with a slight blush dusting her cheeks "Yes, I did go to work though I was quite fortunate it was a slow day. Mostly just filling out paperwork from previous cases until…"

"Until?" Ren asked.

"Well I started to feel sick again and after a trip to the bathroom, Superintendent Sasaki checked in on me and asked me a bunch of questions."

The older woman Sasaki who was Makoto's superior at the station had taken an instant liking to Makoto once she had joined the Police force, taking her under her wing and becoming the younger woman's mentor. After all, while women in the force weren't as uncommon as it used to be, they still faced gender issues which Sasaki hoped Makoto wouldn't have to face, at least without proper guidance. And from what the older woman had seen and experienced before, Makoto was about to go through one of the biggest events in a woman's life, police officer or not.

"She took me aside and straight up asked me if we had been "active" recently." Makoto said as those words caused her to become slightly flustered. Though she adored the intimacy of her relationship with her husband, it was still a little awkward to discuss with others. "I think she wanted to save me from sexist remarks from some of our co-workers so she said I could leave work early once I had finished with my duties for the day."

"Naturally, you tried to fight that…" Ren commented playfully, much to his wife's displeasure.

"Well yes but I relented. I was curious after all and…" she trailed off

"You went and got some tests before confirming it." Ren finished for her.

"Yes…" Makoto hummed with a soft yet uneasy smile.

Ren picked up on his wife's apprehension almost immediately. He shuffled closer to her, placing his hand on top of hers as they rested in her lap.

"What's wrong, Makoto?" he asked.

She kept her head down. Even though Sae had given her reassurance yesterday she still couldn't help but feel anxious, almost fearful about motherhood. She had always been caught up in the what ifs of life. It was something she hated, the whole overthinking of things.

"Babe…" Ren began.

He never called her babe unless the occasion called for it. She wasn't huge on pet names like that, after all. 'Babe' was reserved for moments when one of them was being stupid. Mostly Ren. But that got Makoto thinking. Was she being stupid about this? Were all the nervous thoughts she had about becoming a mother stupid? It was a mixed bag of both excitement and hesitance. Ren moved from his position beside her and knelt in front of her, his hands reclasping over hers.

"Do you not want the baby? We can have an abortion if you really wan-" Ren began to say before Makoto vigorously shook her head.

"No no! That's not it! I mean the thought crossed my mind but no, it's not that I don't want the baby… I do, it's just…" she said before trailing off.

"You're just nervous about this, aren't you?"

She looked up into his eyes. His loving and kind grey eyes.

"You aren't?"

He smiled at her, still holding her hands.

"I am but…" he answered "I'm more excited than anything."

"You're not worried?" Makoto asked.

"Of course I am but," he gripped her hands tighter "I think we're both ready for it."

"But-" Makoto began before Ren placed a finger onto her lips.

"But nothing. I know you, Makoto. You're thinking about all the negative 'what ifs'. Am I correct?"

She weakly nodded as Ren removed his finger and placed his hand back onto hers.

"Think of all the positive 'what ifs'? What if our children adore you? What if they get a boo boo from falling over and think the only thing that can heal them is their mother's kiss? What if they share your fear of the dark and crawl into our bed at night because they can't sleep?"

"Ren that's…"

"Think of all those moments that we'll share with them. Don't you what to experience that?" he asked.

"I do but…" Makoto said "What if… what if I'm not a good mother?"

"I highly doubt that."

"But what if I'm not?! How can you be so sure about that, Ren? I haven't had a mother figure in my life since I was 5 years old. I don't know how to do this!" she said.

There were almost tears forming in her eyes as her husband moved to hold her into a tight embrace.

"Makoto, neither do I. I have no experiences with being a mother either." he joked causing her to blurt out a small chuckle.

"Ren… that's…" Makoto began before being cut off by her husband once more.

"I know but, you do know how to do this." he said.

"But I've never been a mother before, Ren." Makoto pointed out.

Ren pulled himself from the embrace before sitting beside her and wrapping an arm around her waist. She leant into him as he spoke.

"Not traditionally but… you're pretty much the mother of our group. Ever since we were the Phantom Thieves."

Makoto grumbled slightly at that. Yes for the longest time, she was seen as the mother of the group. Though for the most part it was something said in jest, especially when a few of them had taken to referring to her as "Mumkoto". For the most part it was because of her overbearing nature and habitual strictness. Still, that didn't exactly comfort her.

"Ren I don't think that-" she began before he cut her off again.

"Let me explain." he started, doing his best Sojiro expression at the same time.

Makoto groaned at it before allowing him to continue.

"Think of your experiences with our friends, from way back when we all met. You have to admit that we all look up to you in some way. And it's not like those mother-like qualities weren't needed. For the longest time, Futaba would cling to you whenever she felt scared or uncomfortable. Heck, she still does it sometimes and she's 26!"

Makoto smiled at that. Futaba indeed was particularly close, almost to the point of being clingy with not only herself but Ren as well. The girl had quickly attached herself to the two as if they were her own siblings.

"Then there's how strict you have to be with Yusuke when it comes to his eating habits. Granted, he's much better at it now but up until he got some big breaks he was terrible. I'd like to think you forcing him to stick to spending plans helped quite a bit."

While that could be seen as a valid point yes, Makoto wasn't sure about it. Yes it was needed at the time to make sure Yusuke had his priorities correct, she felt that it was just part of her being a little bossy at times. Though that was probably needed as a mother. The willingness to be strict when the situation required. After all, if their child was allowed to do whatever they wanted, especially when it wasn't a good thing then that would be bad.

"I know what you're thinking, what if you're going to be too strict? Sometimes you have to be. I mean look what happens when we leave Ryuji and Morgana alone for too long? Those two find the littlest things to argue over. They listen to you though, when you tell them to stop."

"Hey, they listen to you too." Makoto pointed out.

"I know but they're my best friends. Like yes, you're close friends with them now but back when you first joined you barely knew them and they still listened to you. What I'm trying to say is, you can have a commanding presence when needed." Ren explained.

"I suppose that's true…"

"You are Queen after all." he added, a sly smirk on his face.

"Still, those two last points are more about me being bossy than anything. I get why it's needed at times but… that isn't just what being a mother is about, right?"

"True but that just isn't what you're about. Take your friendships with Haru and Ann. While you don't always have the same interests, whenever they need you, you're there for them. I think that would probably be the same with any children we have. We won't always be into what they're into and I'm personally looking forward to embarrassing them with my antics but that's just how it is. Heck, who would've thought you'd still be close friends with Eiko after all these years. We won't really know how to go about things until we experience them for ourselves."

Makoto smiled as she leant into Ren's chest. He nuzzled his face into the crown of her head as he tightened his hold around her.

"Look, I know you get nervous about a lot of things. So do I but," he spoke "This is probably the biggest thing to ever happen to us. It's fine to be anxious about it. It's a big thing."

He softly began to stroke her hair.

"But like everything we do now. We'll do it together."

Makoto turned to face him, his loving gaze never leaving her face. She leant in and kissed him on the lips.

"I know. I'm sorry about being nervous about this all but thank you. Thank you for easing my worries."

He smiled back, leaning in to kiss her once more.

"It's natural to feel worried about it but I think we're ready."

He poked her forehead and laughed a little.

"Might just be me but I think you'll be the greatest mother in the world."

The title caused Makoto to burst out in laughter as her husband held her giggling self close. She placed both their hands on her belly as they laughed. If she could even fulfil a fraction of that title, she would be content.

* * *

The first idea I had for this was the part where Makoto was too afraid to let Sae know about being pregnant. I thought it'd be amusing that she'd be so nervous about it because of how protective Sae can be. I sorta had this idea of "tricking" the reader into thinking it was like a teenage pregnancy then making the joke that they were actually married already lol. Then after that I had the idea of expanding on her fears of motherhood and it went from there. I'm pretty happy with the end result.

Mumkoto is real.

Twitters

MadmanJrs  
shumakoweek


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